Loving the Patron Saint of Liars and Jerks
by abcdefghannah
Summary: Lily and James, the ever growing tale of love. In the end, things end the same. But the Journey is hell of a lot differant. The Story your about to read contains, love, heartbreak, new friendships, breakups, mystery and confusion. Welcome to LPSL & J.
1. Chapter 1

**Part One**

**James' Province** Lily Evans, the object of my affection; it was only a matter of time before she become mine.

Who was I kidding? I was actually starting to lose all hope of Evans liking me. Sirius Black, my best friend, had been telling me to give up for years. But she just has that…that…I don't know, _something_. And I had fallen for that something hard. The only thing was that she hated me. I am even convinced that if she could kill me, she would. Okay, well, maybe that is a little bit too far, but she doesn't even want to spend five minutes alone with me. Well, actually, she doesn't even want to spend one minute in a completely full room with me. So, I guess that tells you how much she cares for me. I just don't get it; anyone else would date me, and...I mean, take Sierra for example: my current girlfriend. Even though she – and, well, everyone else for that matter – knows I'm in love with Lily, but they still date me. But I mean…

"Prongs," Sirius said, snapping me out of my trance. "Mate, you're drooling."

"Sorry, only another week till I see her," I said my hand jumping to my hair as two girls in bikinis walked pasted. We were at Great Yarmouth on the beach. The sun was beating down on us. It was one of the hottest days of the year.

"Hi, ladies," Sirius called. The giggled and flashed him a smile.

"How about some ice cream?" I asked. They nodded and we walked over to the ice cream stand. Of course I loved Lily, but I also loved to flirt.

"Sirius, aren't you with Rach?" I said as we sat down on the beach, and the two girls, whose names turned out to be Alex and Sierra, went to the bathroom.

"Nope, we are off again."

"Ah! The on again, off again relationship."

"Well at least I have a relationship." He smirked.

"True, but maybe I should put Lily aside for today, you know. Sierra is extremely hot, I have two weeks to make it with her, then I'm back at Hogwarts; back to Lily."

Sirius laughed and finished off his ice cream as Alex and Sierra walked back to us.

Alex's dirty blonde hair and Sierra's brown were blowing in the wind; it made them look like super models. But of course in my eyes, they had nothing on Lily Evans. "Girls," I smiled, "how would you like go play around in the water?"

"I would love to." Sierra smiled back. "But James, I'm not a rebound girl."

"And I'm not on the rebound, so were in luck." I smirked back. She rolled her eyes and I chased her into the freezing cold water. She screamed as the water reached her tanned stomach.

"Oh that's freezing!" she said.

"Let me warm you up then," I replied as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"James, take it slow, we have all day." She smiled. She was gorgeous. But every time I looked at her I wished she were Lily. It was around sundown when Sirius and I were saying goodbye to Alex and Sierra.

"Bye, girls, we'll call you," I said.

"Bye, Sirius," Alex said and gave him a goodbye kiss.

"See you Sierra," I said, and we kissed.

It wasn't until five minutes later we actually got in our car and drove back to my place.   
**  
No province**   
Petunia, Lily's older sister by a year, walked into her room.

"Have fun with your freaky little friends. Mum told me to come and tell you to be ready in 10 minutes so she can drive you. So…when do you go back to your…" She smirked. "…School?"

"Two weeks, finally. After a summer with you, I so can't wait to get out of here," Lily said.

"I'll miss you," Petunia replied sarcastically.

"Right back at ya," Lily said, throwing a pillow her way. She stormed out of the room.

Lily looked in the mirror. Her dark red curls fell to her shoulders and her emerald green, almond shaped eyes sparkled in the light. She slipped on a green and white-stripped sweater, and pulled on some socks and took one last look in the mirror. She shrugged. The truth was Lily Evans was a beautiful girl but she didn't quite believe it with her sister always saying cruel comments. She ran down the stairs to find her mom and dad standing at the door waiting for her with her trunk.

"Okay, now, have fun at Sunshine's," Amy, her mom, said.

"I will," Lily replied.

"Oh come here, my little Head Girl. We're so proud of you," Amy said, tears glistening in her eyes, embracing Lily in a hug. "I'm not going to see you for another year. Behave, have fun, and good luck with your N.E.W.T.S."

Lily got a sickening feeling in her stomach; her N.E.W.T.S., the hardest wizarding test taken, and the most important, as they determine your job after Hogwarts.

"Yeah…" she gulped. "I'll miss you too." She slid into the passenger sit next to her dad, waved to her mother, and took a last look at their cottage. Flowers grew everywhere; her mother was in love with flowers, and that was how Lily and her sister Petunia had been named. They pulled out of the driveway, and Lily realized this would be the last time she would have to leave for Hogwarts. Tears swelling up, she changed her thoughts to last year and what had happened. It had been a blast like always: Sunny had started dating Remus Lupin, a very good friend of Lily's, and she was extremely happy for them. Rachel had, once again, been on and off with Sirius Black, the most handsome guy in school who everyone drooled over. Lily had even heard rumors of a Sirius black fan club. She was probably the only girl in school without a boyfriend who wasn't in love with him. She didn't see the fuss, and anyway, he was a friend of James Potter and was much like him. Lily grimaced at the thought of James. James was, in Lily's opinion, the most arrogant boy at Hogwarts; his ego was a hundred times bigger than anyone's should be. Also, he has taken a liking to Lily and for the past six years at Hogwarts. He had asked her out at least once a week, sometimes even once a day. Of course she would refuse; she couldn't even stand a single second with him. There was no chance in hell she would date him. Ever. Seeing as Lily wasn't a big fan of Sirius or James, Rach has kept her talk about him to a minimum (which, for Rach, was extremely hard) and would never force Lily to hang out with him. Steph was like Lily – single, and they both enjoyed rating the boys of Hogwarts when bored.

"So, Blossom, are you looking forward to this year?" her father asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, but I can't believe it's my last," Lily replied, relieved to have her thoughts turned away from James.

"Well here we are. Now be good, as always, I'm going to miss you," he said, kissing her on the forehead and getting out of the car.

"I'll miss you, too, I love you." Lily jumped out of the car.

"I love you, too, Blossom." He handed Lily her trunk.

"Thanks, bye, Dad."

Lily walked up to the front door of Sunshine's big Victorian house and rang the doorbell.

**  
Lily's Province**   
"LILY!" Sunshine's voice sang from above me. I looked up: hanging out of a huge window was Sunny, her blonde hair billowing around her.

"Sunny Hunny!" I squealed.

"Guess what? My parents went away for the rest of the summer leaving us alone! Isn't that awesome? Hold on ill be down in a minute," she said, disappearing from view. A few minutes later, the door opened and I was staring at a tall boy around eighteen, only two years older than I was. He had brownish-black hair, gorgeous blue eyes, and tanned skin. He was shirtless, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his abs.

"Hi," I stumbled, looking up. He was very handsome, maybe even more than Sirius Black.

"Hey, bozo, get away from the door and put a shirt on," Sunny said, running down the marble staircase. "This is Rubedo, but call him Jr. He's my brother."

Sunny had a curvy body with a flat stomach just like me, and she was flaunting it in short shorts and a purple tank top.

"Brother? You never told me you had a brother," I said, finally tearing my eyes away from Jr's gorgeous features.

"Well, you never asked," Sunny said blushing.

"Sunny, I'm sure I have," I said, turning my attention back to Jr.

"So, you must be Lily-Gorgeous-Green-Eyes-and-Flaming-Red-Hair. Sunny has told me a lot about you," he said. His voice was like caramel to me. I could feel my cheeks reddening.

"Ew, Jr. Stop chatting up my friend," Sunny said, fake-puking. "Come on, Lils, let's go to my room."

I pulled my heavy trunk up her step into the house.

"Let me take that," Jr said, taking my trunk from me. For a split second our hands touched. My stomach did a back flip.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Lily? Hello? Come on?" Sunny said.

"Uh, sorry," I said, once more tearing my eyes from Jr and following Sunny to her room.

**  
Sunny's Province** Lily walked around my room looking at all my pictures of me with Remus, Rachel, Steph or me, which covered my lilac walls.

"Sunny, I told you to throw that picture out…I look like complete crap!" Lily said, walking over to a picture of Lily and I. It was the last day of school on our second year, the year we had become the best of friends.

"No you–" I began.

"–Don't," Jr finished, bringing Lily' trunk into my room, acting like the trunk was light as a feather. Lily blushed again and smiled.

"Rubedo!" I said harshly. I glanced at Lily and noticed she was blushing. 'Hold on,' I thought. 'Lily is enjoying this.' "Uh, so, how come I have never seen you around before? I come to Sunny's house every summer," Lily said, smiling at Jr.

"Oh, I usually work at a sports camp all summer," he said to Lily. "So, Lily, is your boyfriend at Hogwarts too?"

"Uh, I don't have one actually." Lily's cheeks turned pink.

'Oh, God,' I thought.

"Uh, Lily, do you mind excusing us for one second?" I said, pulling Jr into the hall. Lily shook her head. I pulled him rather harshly into the hall and shut the door. "Jr., do you like Lily?" I asked.

"What?" he answered.

" Don't play dumb with me. I know you too well. You like her!"

"So what if I do?"

"What do you mean so what? She's my friend! Don't hurt her, got it?" I replied.

"You don't have to worry, Sunny Bunny; I don't break hearts."

"You better not. You know she's a witch, don't you?"

"Yes, I do, but it doesn't bother me. How shallow do you think I am?"

I laughed. We walked back into my room.

"Well, Lily, I have to go now, but I will see you around," Jr smiled. Lily's looked like a lovesick puppy.

"Bye." She smiled right back.

I shut the door.

"Uh...did you, by any chance, hear what was said?" I asked.

"Every word. You know how good my hearing is," Lily said. "But why didn't you say I was off limits, like you did when your other brother took a liking to Steph?"

"Well, because I can tell you like him, too. And Lily, he's a good guy, not like Justin. He would have treated Steph like crap. But Jr…he's a really nice guy and you deserve to be with someone good. You haven't had much luck with boyfriends. And we all know why that is." I laughed.

"Yeah, why does James have to scare away every boyfriend I have ever had?" Lily said, sitting on my bed. "It's not like I'm his property."

"Well, the way he talks about you he makes it sound like you are," I said, sitting next to her. Lily looked at me puzzled. "Remus told me."

"Oh, yeah, how are things with him?" Lily asked.

"Amazing, thanks. I have asked him over tomorrow with Steph and Rach…do you mind?" I asked.

"Are you crazy? I love Remus, you know how close we are," Lily said, looking at me shocked.

"Yeah." I laughed nervously. She looked at me.

"What's up, Sunny?"

"Oh nothing," I said, but I didn't meet her eye.

For the rest of the night, Lily and Jr hung out together. I sometimes joined in, other times I would talk to Remus on the phone. **Jr's Province** "Good Morning," I said, coming into the kitchen where Lily and Sunny sat eating toast.

"Hey," Lily replied, blushing at me. She was so beautiful.

"Morning, Rub!" Sunny said, smirking.

"Hey! How many times, don't call me that!" I said, smirking, punching my sister lightly on the arm.

"I'll be right back, Sunny," Lily said, getting up, walking in the direction of the bathroom.

"'Kay, and what's wrong with Rub? I like it."

"Well, I don't." I smiled, and went to make toast.

"So are you going to do something about Lily?" Sunny asked me.

"Maybe, but I've got to know if she likes me back, and…well, it takes time," I said, buttering my toast

"She's only here for two weeks, you know," Sunny replied.

"Yeah, I figured," I said my heart sinking.

Lily walked in the door. She had brushed her teeth and her flaming red hair looked like a comb had just been through it.

"So, what are you guys up to today?" I said.

"Well, Remus is coming over, and we're just going to watch movies and hang out," Sunny said.

"Oh, so you're going to be the third wheel, are you, Lily? That's not very nice, Sunshine!" I said, shaking my finger at Sunny. Lily laughed.

"Uh, well, Steph and Rachel are coming, too," Sunny said.

"So, do you mind if I watch the movie too? I mean, I have nothing else to do today. My friends are busy, and I am going to be around the house," I said, ignoring my sister's last comment. I smiled at Lily. She was so pretty.

"Sure! I mean…if you want. Is that all right, Sunny?" Lily asked.

"Uh, well actually..." Sunny began. She looked at Lily; Lily was giving her a look that said 'please-you-know-how-much-I-want-this.' My heart couldn't help but flutter.

"Okay, that's fine. Lily, let's go get ready; they will be here in an hour." **No Province** An hour later, Lily, Jr, Sunny, Steph, and Rach were all sitting on the couch debating what to watch.

"A Walk to Remember! I love that movie! It makes me cry every time," Lily said.

"No! The Notebook!" Steph said, brushing her dark brown hair from her now green eyes, which were sparkling as always.

"Well, ladies, which one?" Jr said, smiling at Lily. Rach and Steph both gave Lily 'oh my god!' looks. They had both expressed how hot they thought he was to her earlier, and Sunny has spilled that he liked her.

"Well, um, I don't…" Rach began, but she was interrupted by the doorbell. "That will be Remus and Sirius," Rach said, beaming. Her gorgeous, darkish-blonde hair was straight today, and her bangs shaped her face and made her look like a super model.

"What, Sirius? You didn't tell me about that, Sunny," Lily said, surprised.

"I tried," she said, looking at her shoes.

"He isn't that bad once you get to know him. Lily, will you give him a chance? Please? It would mean a lot," Rach said, pleadingly.

"Okay, so, I guess this means right now your together," Lily said.

"No, but I'm working on it," she said, beaming. She was his longest relationship and his only girlfriend who Remus said he cared about. I could tell that Rach was happy with him and I wasn't going to spoil it for her.

Rach, Steph, and Sunny all got up to answer the door, leaving Lily with Jr.

"So, Lily, this is your last year at Hogwarts?" he said with his caramel voice making her knee's weak.

'Thank god I'm sitting,' she thought. "Yeah, I can't believe it. Are you in school right now?" She smiled back.

"Remus!" Sunny said, hugging a tall brown haired figure standing in the doorway.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said, hugging her tightly.

"Rach, hey babe," said a tall, very handsome figure with long black hair, going up to Rachel and embracing her perfect body, with just the right amount of curves everywhere, in a tight hug. They pulled away and kissed.

'Ha! Yeah, not together,' Lily thought.

Another handsome figure stepped through the door, messing his jet-black hair up at the back, as he always did. This made it look like he had just gotten out of bed, but still he looked incredibly handsome. "James Potter?" Steph said, rounding on Sunny. "Sunny!"

Sunshine blushed.

"So, where is my Lily?" James said, his hazel eyes flooded with excitement.

"Uh, she isn't here. She had to go home. I guess you can leave now, can't you?" Steph said very fast, pushing James out the door. She knew he would ruin Lily's day if he were here.

"Hey, Steph. Calm yourself, babe. There she is," he said, noticing her in the living room. "Evans!" he shouted, walking into the living room. He stopped. Lily was there, but she wasn't alone. There, sitting next to Lily – obviously flirting with her – was another guy. James' heart broke.

"James!" Lily said, turning around. Her smile faded.

"Hey, babe," he said, smirking, walking over. He hugged her like it hadn't affected him.

She was too surprised to move.

"Lily?" Jr said.

"Sunny!" Lily said, pushing James off. "What is he doing here?"

"I'm here because I miss you, baby. How was your summer?" James said.

"Lily, I thought you said you didn't have a boyfriend," Jr said.

"Who are you?" James said to Jr.

"Rubedo. I'm Sunshine's brother. Who are you?" he said standing up. He was a few inches taller, but that didn't stop James.

"James Potter, Lily's boyfriend."

"James, you are _not _my boyfriend!" Lily said, outraged.

"Lily? What's going on?" Rubedo said. His smile faded now.

"I don't know! Sunny, what is he doing here?" Lily said, turning to Sunny.

"Well, I guess he must have tagged along!" she said. "I'm so sorry."

James and Jr were looking daggers into each other.

Lily looked around. Sirius and Rach had disappeared, Remus was standing next to Sunny, holding her hand, and Steph mouthed, 'I'm sorry I tried.'

"Lily, is he your boyfriend?" Jr asked her.

"No, Jr. He isn't. I told you: I don't have one," Lily said, anger cursing through her. "James, you have no right to come in her and say you're my boyfriend. You are not, and never will be. Just get it through your head, James. I said no, I have always said no, and I always will say no."

"Hey, what's going on?" Sirius said, coming back in.

"Sirius, why did you bring him?" Lily said, turning my anger his way.

"He is my best mate, Lily! How could I not?" Sirius said surprised at her anger.

"Lily, calm down, babe," James said.

"Don't 'babe' me!" Lily shouted. "Jr, listen…I'm really sorry about this!" she said, and ran up the stairs, tears swelling in her eyes.

"I better go after her!" James said.

"I think its best not to. I know you love her and all, and you say that she will come around, but mate…maybe you should leave it now," Remus said.

"But–" James began.

"He's right," Sirius agreed.

"Let's watch a movie!" Sunny said, trying to brighten the mood.

Jr threw James a disgusted look and ran up the stairs after Lily.

"Lily?" he called. "Lily?"

"Jr?" Lily said, opening the bathroom door. She had stopped crying, but tears still clung to her lashes.

"Mind if I come in?" He smiled.

Lily's heart flipped. She managed to flash a watery smile back and nodded. He walked in, and they sat down on the floor, leaning against the bathtub.

"What went on down there, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked. His voice soothed Lily, and she started to tell him everything – James asking her out everyday, her turning him down, how arrogant he is, how much she hated him – and throughout, Jr just sat and listened.

"Well, as much as I don't like him, I know that he cares about you and he loves you. Don't be so harsh; I think he means well," Jr said.

"But I don't love him, I don't want him. Why are you sticking up for him? I thought you hated him," Lily said, looking at Jr.

"I do, but I think you were too blinded by rage. And right, you should be, but I just wanted you to see that. But Lily, I have to say, even though your mascara's running and you probably think you look like crap, you look gorgeous." Jr smiled.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." She smiled back.

Jr lent in. Their lips met, and Lily's stomach did a back flip. His hand found her hair, and he started running his hand through it.

"Lily?" The door opened, and there stood James, watching Lily and Jr make out.

Lily leapt up. "James!" she said, outraged.

"Get your hands off my woman!" James shouted, storming up to Jr.

"She's not your woman! I know you're mad, but she doesn't love you!" J. said back with a hint of anger.

"How dare you! You have known Lily for a day, and you can't keep your filthy little hands off her! A day! I mean, who kisses someone after a day of knowing them? Even I wouldn't stoop that low, and I have known Lily six years, and I love her more than you ever could!" he shouted.

Jr's temper was rising. "Lily and I like each other, and it is none of your business how long we have known each other! She likes me, not you, get over it!" he shouted back.

"Rubedo! James! Stop!" Lily yelled, tears leaking from her eyes.

"What's going on?" Sirius said, standing outside the open door.

"This git was touching my woman!" James roared.

"She is not your woman!" Jr shouted back.

"Yes, she is!" James screamed, punching Jr.

"JAMES!" Lily screamed. Blood trickled from Jr's nose, and he punched James right back.

"Hey what's going on?!" Rach, Steph, Sunny and Remus had joined them.

"STOP!" Lily screamed.

Sirius advanced on James, pulling him back.

"Sirius, let go of me! He deserves it! He stole my woman!" James said. Anger was etched on every line of his face.

"James, I am not your woman," Lily sobbed.

He looked at her, saw she meant it, and walked out of the bathroom, down the stairs and out the front door.

"Jr, are you okay?" Sunny asked.

"I'm fine. Lily, are you?" he asked, wiping his bleeding nose.

"Yeah."

"Come downstairs; we need to put some ice your nose," Steph said.

**No Province** "I love her, Sirius…so much, and I always thought she would come around. I've seen her with other guys before…it's just, this one made me mad…it just…I can't explain it. I love her beyond belief and I don't know what to do. She is slipping from me." James paused and put his head on his hands. "Ha! Wow, the famous James Potter who every girl would die for, just look at me Sirius. I'm a fool, a fool in love! Maybe I should give up." He was sitting outside on the step leading to the house with Sirius right beside him.

"Listen, mate, you know I'm not very good with this stuff, but…you love Lily, right? You always have and you say you always will? Well how can you let go if your love's that strong? You want the girl, you get the girl – that's my motto." Sirius smirked.

"Easy enough for you to say. You have a fan club! And, well, you're not head over heels in love, are you?" James laughed.

"I don't know, James. Rach is different, very different from all the other girls, you know. I care about her, I honestly do," Sirius said.

"Aw, Sirius is in loooooove!" James smirked.

"Watch it, mate! I've had to listen to endless rants about Lily." Sirius laughed.

"But never once have you not teased me." James chuckled. "Now it's my turn."

"But seriously, mate, don't give up," Sirius said.

"He's right, although I strongly disagree with what you did. You've come this far; you can't give up," Remus said, coming out of the house. They both turned around to find Lily standing in the doorway, watching silently.

", Lily," James said, standing up. Remus turned around, a guilty look appearing on his face. "Lily, by any chance, did you just hear what we were talking about?" James said.

"Every word," she said. 'God, she is so beautiful,' James thought.

"Um, James, may I talk with you?" she said.

"Uh, yes, sure," James said, looking startled.

Lily had no idea why she was doing this; she hated James, but hearing that just made her realize he did have a heart. No matter how much she hated him, she couldn't let anyone hurt as much as that.

Remus and Sirius went back into the house.

"James," Lily said, sitting on the step. James sat too. "I really don't know what to say."

"How about 'I love you,'" he said, but without his usual cockiness.

"James, you know how I think of you, don't you?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, I do," James said, turning away from her. "But why?"

"James, are sure you want to hear this?" Lily asked.

"Yes, Lily. I would do anything for you, what do you want me to do? Do you want me to change?" James said, looking at her. She looked in his eyes: the usual sparkle was gone, and all she saw now was a sadness she knew was tearing him up. Lily wasn't sure to say anything now.

"No, James, I don't want you to change for me. I want you to be you. But you have to know I'm not yours, I don't love you, and I am not your woman," Lily said. For some reason even she couldn't even explain, she felt bad. Bad for saying these things, even those she had said thousands of times before. This time she knew it had hit him hard. This time she knew she has broken his heart into thousands of pieces. And she couldn't stand to see anyone that unhappy.  
"But let's be friends," she said.

"Really?" James said.

"Yes, really." She smiled.

"So, Lily, will you go out with me?" James asked. Usually Lily would be shouting her head off at him, but this time all she could do was laugh and refuse. Her feelings about him had changed. She didn't know why exactly, but like Jr said, maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

**Sunny's Province**   
"Sunny Hunny?" A voice came from behind me. I was sitting next to Remus on the bed. I turned towards the door and there was Lily. I smiled at her.

"Sorry, I was just a bit freaked out," I replied. I turned to Remus. He got the hint and kissed me on the cheek and left.

"No, it's my fault. I'm sorry. He's your brother, I wasn't thinking straight, I forgot how much this would upset you…I'm sorry, I just like him so much," she said. It was the first guy she had ever had a proper relationship with without James breaking them up as soon as he found out.

"Lils, if you like him this much, I'm not going to stop it. I love you, Lily, so much and I'm happy you found someone that can stand up to James. And, you both like each and who am I to come between you?"

"Thanks, Sunny, but I won't if you don't want me to."

"No, I'm happy for you, really!" I smiled, and she knew I was being serious. "Oh, Lily!" I laughed and embraced her in a hug.

"Mind if we cut in?" Rach and Steph said, coming in and sitting next to us.

"Lils we are here for you. You were there for me through, well…you know what," I said, gesturing to my right arm where 3 scars lay.

"Oh, Sunny, we love you to bits. Don't ever do it again! Promise, we are all here for you!" Rach said.

"I know." I knew how much it had hurt them when I had cut, it wasn't anything bad like trying to kill myself, but it had shaken Lily up really bad. Steph had understood and Rach had freaked out, but they were there for me and understood. They had helped me stop but every time I looked at my right arm, it was a reminder, a reminder of the only stress reliever that had ever worked for me. "Anyway, guys, is it okay if I invite Remus to stay with us for the next week or two?"

"Yeah, of course, why wouldn't it be?" Steph asked.

"Um – well Sirius and James would want to stay, too."

"Oh – well it's not a problem. James and I are cool now," Lily said to me, but I didn't quite believe her.

"Thanks, Lils," I said, grinning and hugging her.

"So, Rach, what's with you and Sirius?"

"Well, we are not really technically going out but, you know…we're getting there," Rach replied, grinning from ear to ear. We all laughed; Rach's and Sirius' relationship wasn't actually what you would call healthy, but he made Rach extremely happy and that, to me, was the main thing. "Anyway let's go downstairs. I'm kinda scared that Jr might have killed James." Rach laughed. She was back to her usual lively, bubbly self now she and Sirius were on again.

**Rach's province** After two weeks of Sirius and I not talking, finally we were basically back together. I had to admit I was kind of depressed when we weren't together. Well 'kind of' was an understatement, but I kept that to myself. Sure, my friends knew I was down, but they didn't know just how down I was.

"Sirius! Guess what?" I glowed, running down the stairs and landing on the lounge floor.

"What, babe?" He smiled getting up from the sofa where Remus and James also were, and kissing me on the lips.

"Sunny said you guys can stay for the rest of the summer, isn't that great?" I smiled.

"Awesome! You and I. Same house for two weeks. It's going to be great!" Sirius said, back threading his arms around my waist and kissing me.

"Ha, okay, Sirius, slow down mate, how long have you two been going out?" James said from behind me.

"Longer than you and Lily," Sirius replied.

"Hey! It will happen…" James began. "In time." We both laughed.

"James, ever heard of 'move on?'" I asked.

"Ha ha, you're so funny, Miss Racks," James said.

"Ha ha yourself," I said, hitting him over the head with my hand. I hated that nickname. James smiled sarcastically.

"Hey! I'm the only one who gets to call her that," Sirius said, smirking.

"Do you want a hit over the head, too?" I said, raising my hand as to warn him.

"Anytime, baby." He flirted. I sighed, that was Sirius for you.

"Anyway, I have to go call my mom and tell her I'm staying," I said, pulling away from the mega hot guy that was still hanging around my waist. The second I pulled away I fell over my feet and fell face down on the fluffy carpet.

"You must like me a lot," Sirius said between keeling over laughing.

"Am I missing something?" James asked while laughing.

"Every time she knocks something over or falls flat on her face, it means she's nervous or she likes someone a lot."

"Listen are you going to just stand there and laugh or would you please help me up!" I said angrily from the ground. Yes, it was true I was clumsy around the guy I like or when I was nervous and, unfortunately, Sirius had picked up on that. So without me even opening my mouth he knew I liked him. A lot.

"Sorry, babe," Sirius said, offering me his hand. I took it and with all my strength pulled him down. He landed on top me, putting down his arms just before he reached me, leaving his face hanging inches from mine. And, in old Sirius fashion, he made it into a making out opportunity. And trust me I'm not a or anything, but Sirius was just so hot.

"Get a room." James laughed, stepping around us and sitting back on the couch with Remus who had seen everything.

"Woooh, get a room guys," Lily said, maneuvering around us. I pushed Sirius off me and got up, dusting myself off, and sticking my tongue out at Sirius, who was laying on his back on the floor.

"Exactly what I said," James replied. It was nice to see Lily and James getting on even though Lily didn't enjoy it.

"So, I was thinking…do you guys want to go to Blackpool beach or something?" Sunny asked, coming in with Steph and sitting next to Remus on the couch.

"Yeah! Oh my god, amazing idea, Sunny Bunny!" I squealed, helping Sirius off the floor.

"Where's Jr?" Lily said, getting off the couch and wandering into the Kitchen.

"Wooh, shows what she thinks of the idea, huh?" Sunny said.

"Hah, I wouldn't take it personally. After all, I mean, she _is_ in love!" I said. Sunny shot me a death stare. "Yeah, in love with uh, uh, chocolate."

"Good going, big mouth," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Well I guess you won't be getting anymore action from it after that last comment," I shot back.

"Hey! I was kidding! You have a lovely mouth, Rachy Poo."

"I would think so, seeing as most of the time yours is glued to it, Sirius." Sunny laughed. Sirius threw a pillow at her.

"Yours could need glued shut!" he retaliated. "Why don't you try gluing yours to it, Remus?"

"Because, Sirius, Sunny and I don't need PDA to show our love."

"Yeah, but it sure is fun." Rach laughed.

"Man, do I feel left out?" Steph said.

"Join the club," James said, giving her a half-hearted smile.

**  
Steph's Province** I had really never felt so lonely, even though I wasn't truly lonely. I mean, I had Matt, but it wasn't really the same. Seeing Rach and Sirius together was hard. I mean, I was extremely happy for Rach; I knew how much she cared for Sirius, and I could honestly tell he cared for her too. But looking at them made me feel so lonely. Knowing James was lonely too didn't make me feel quite so alone, I guess, but it was James. The arrogant, pig headed boy. I would prefer someone decent was lonely with me, but you take what you get, right?

Lily and Jr came back from the kitchen and sat down on the floor together.

"So movie, guys?" I said.

"Hmm, not a horror movie!" Rach said.

"Aw, I wanted to watch The Ring; it's on pay-per-view," Sunny said.

"I still say A Walk to Remember," Lily said.

"No! The Notebook," I replied.

"A Walk to Remember? The Notebook?" James said. "No."

"Hear, hear," Sirius replied.

"Hey, maybe we all need a little cry." Rach laughed. "I love The Notebook."

Sirius rolled her eyes. "What's with girls and crying movies?"

"Well, Sirius, when we cry we like a shoulder to cry on…if you get what I mean," Lily said.

"Lils! Now you have got ideas in his head." Rach laughed.

"Yeah, too right you have. The Notebook it is."

"I'll go get that," Jr said as the phone started ringing.

"What's up with him? The second the phone rang he jumped up."

"Take three guesses," Lily said in a rude tone.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make him uncomfortable," he replied. She gave him a sarcastic smile. Seeing the tension I changed the conversation.

"So The Notebook?" I said. Everyone nodded their heads in various directions. Shrugging, I got up and went over to the DVD player and inserted The Notebook. A voice came from the hall.

"Sunny, Lily, I have to go. My friend needs me: he just broke up with his girl, and we're going to the pool hall. I'll be back soon, promise!" he said, kissing Lily on the cheek.

"'Kay," Lily said, smiling, but the look in her eye was pure sadness. She and Jr had made a strong connection within the short time they had been together.

"Lils, come sit," James said, patting beside him.

"Over my dead body, Potter."

After the movie, Lils, Rach, Sunny, and I went out into the backyard and dipped our feet into Sunny's huge pool.

"So, Steph, how has your summer been?" Lily asked, splashing my feet, making water droplets land on my jean capris. My hair began sticking to my neck in the burning heat; it must be the warmest day of the summer.

"Pretty much how I said in all the letters we wrote each other." She laughed. "It's been good, really good, but sad because that's going to be our last ever summer holiday."

"Yeah, you're right. Well, we better make the most of it, right? Hey, I'm boiling…how about a swim?"

"Sure, but we have a lack of swim suits," I said just as loud footsteps echoed from behind us. The next thing I knew, I was in the pool, sopping wet with my shirt clingy to my body.

"That won't be a problem." James laughed.

"Sirius!" Rach screamed.

"James!" Lily shouted.

"Remus!" Sunny yelled. Who was I supposed to yell for? There was no Peter to yell for. Thinking of Peter…where was he?

"Ahh! I'm soaked!"

"Guys, where is Peter?" I said.

"Wooh, random? Umm, I don't know. He told us he is away visiting someone," James said, like he couldn't care less.

"Sirius! I'm going to kill you!" Rach said, getting out of the water, soaking wet. "You ruined my flip flops."

"Speaking of flips flops, where are mine?" Lily said, diving down to the bottom of the pool and returning minutes later with a soggy flip flop that had half of its jewels missing. "James! These were my favorite shoes!" she raged. She, looking over to Rach and Sunny, winked. "Oh, but I think I can forgive you," she said while getting out of the pool. "So, James, I have been thinking…" She walked over to him. "And, I'm sorry for being mean earlier…" She went closer, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I want to give you something…" She drew him closer to the pool.

"Sirius, I want to talk to you, too."

"Yeah, and you, Remus."

I could see it coming, but the guys, being blinded by their girlfriends throwing themselves at them, couldn't.

"Over here," They all said at the same time and pushed their guys into the pool.

I got out of the pool and walked up to the girls and gave them high fives.

"Very funny," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Isn't it just," Rach replied sarcastically, sticking her tongue out at him.

**Remus' Province** "I can't believe they got us," Sirius said, rubbing his hair with a towel.

"Me either," I replied.

"Guys!" Sunny said, coming into our room. "Wooh," she said as she saw that all three of us had our shirts off. "Um…oh, yeah, do you want to go to Blackpool Pleasure Beach tomorrow and stay a night or something?"

"Yeah, I would love to, Sunny!" I said to her, kissing her on the cheek. She blushed, smiled, and left.

"You two seem good," James stated.

"Yeah, we are. Hey, Sirius, why don't we invite those girls from the beach to Blackpool?"

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Sirius?" I asked.

"Um–" He frowned, paused, and then shrugged.

"Your girlfriend?"

"Well, we aren't technically going out," he replied.

I can't believe him sometimes. Rach and him were all over each other, and now he just wants to meet some girl where Rach was going to be. I would never do that to a girl, but it's Sirius, and I guess Rachel knew what she was getting herself into. The next day, all three of us guys were outside and waiting. We had all brought overnight bags that were slung in the trunk. I had gotten my license and we were taking Sunny's parents' car that had seven seats. We were leaning against the car, waiting for the girls. I opened the door and honked the horn.

"Alright, alright! We're coming!" Steph yelled, coming out of the door with Lily. They both had sports bags packed to the brim.

"Wooh, we're going for a night, ladies," I said.

"Let me take that from you," James said to Lily.

"No, I can do it myself," Lily said, brushing past him. James shrugged and took Steph's instead.

"Where are Rach and Sunny?" Sirius asked.

"Inside, still," Lily said. We rolled our eyes.

An hour later, we had only just gotten onto the road. I was driving with Sunny beside me, Sirius and Rach were behind us and Lily and James were in the back with Steph in between them. Rach and Sirius were bickering about something, as usual. They couldn't stop fighting, but in the end, they always made up. Steph and James were talking to each other, and Lily was looking out the window.

"It's going to be a long journey," Sunny said to me.

"Yeah, if Rach and Sirius keep it up."

"Stop!" Sunny said. Rach and Sirius threw each other dirty looks and turned towards the window.

That was Rach and Sirius for you, always fighting but always making up.

"No, I've never been before, have you?" Steph asked James.

"Yeah, I go to Blackpool Pleasure Beach at least once a year. It's so much fun."

"Yeah, Lily, have you been?" Steph asked.

"No."

"So, why isn't Jr coming, again?" James asked. Out of the mirror I saw Steph shoot him a death stare.

"He's with his friend. He actually cares about his relationships, unlike you," she retorted.

"I do care," he replied.

"Oh, yeah? And when have you ever been sad after a girl dumps you?" She turned to him.

"We have a problem there, Evans," he stated. Lily rolled her eyes. "I have never been dumped."

"Okay, let's move on," I said, feeling the tension even though I was in the front.

"Oh! I made Head Girl," Lily said, beaming.

"Oh, great, babe! Congrats!" James said.

"Yeah, well done, Lils," everyone else said.

"Who made Head Boy?" I wondered. I wasn't expecting it myself; with my 'condition' I wouldn't be able to fulfill all of my duties.

"Um, Tyson Leaning, in Ravenclaw," Lily said.

"Really?" Steph said, a smile spread across her face, but it was gone within seconds.

"Yeah." She laughed.

Hours later, we arrived in Blackpool. Rach and Sirius weren't talking still. Rach had moved to the back seat, so Sirius and James were now plotting something behind Sunny and I.

"We're here," I finally said.

"Thank goodness," Sirius said.

"Finally!" Lily mumbled. I parked the car and we all piled out.

"Let's hit the beach first, then we'll do the park later," Sunny said.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, taking her hand. All seven of us walked towards the beach; it wasn't that busy, which was surprising, seeing as it was baking outside. Sunny and I lead the pack, hand in hand, with Sirius and James bringing up the rear. We all took off our shoes and walked on the burning hot sand. We broke into a run until we reached the cool sea, which soothed our burning feet. We walked back on the beach and laid down towels. The girls took off their shirts and skirts revealing bathing suits. Most were covered by sarongs and shorts. Us guys followed suit.

"Evans, you're smoking," James said, looking her up and down.

"Drop dead, James," she shot back. "Come on, girls. Let's go find some ice cream. Want some?"

"Yeah, please. Double chocolate fudge, with chocolate sprinkles and chocolate fudge sauce in a double chocolate cone," Sirius said.

"Enough chocolate, mate? Um, I'll have a strawberry ripple bubble gum, two scoops, dipped in chocolate sprinkles and those silver ball things, in a chocolate covered cone," James said.

"I'll have a vanilla," I said.

"Three vanillas, then," Rach said, laughing, and walking towards the ice cream van.

**Lily's Province**"They're such pigs," Steph laughed.

"Three vanillas, a strawberry swirl…" I said to the girl in the ice cream van.

"A chocolate ripple," Steph said.

"I'll just have a cone," Sunny said.

"And another chocolate ripple," Rach said. We took the ice creams and returned back to the guys. But there was only one problem: our spots had been taken by two girls in bathing suits. One was all over Sirius, the other over James.

"What the hell?" Rach mumbled walking over to Sirius, as we all sat down on the towels. She cleared her throat. He looked up and took the Vanilla ice cream out of her hand and returned to the dirty blonde next to him. She scowled at him, took the ice cream out of his hand, and shoved it into his face. He looked at her, licking his lips.

"What the hell?" he said. She smiled evilly at him and sat down next to me.

"Come on, Alex, let's get out of here," he said, getting up and taking the dirty blonde by the hand. He turned to us. "I'll meet you back here in an hour or so."

"Sirius, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Actually–" he began, but Rach took him by the hand and lead him away. From what it looked like from where I was sitting, Rach was shouting and Sirius was standing up for himself. Minutes later, Rach stormed back fuming and Sirius disappeared off with Alex.

"Anyway, Lily…meet Sierra," James said, gesturing to the brunette next to him.

"Hi," I said.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said, offering me her hand. I shook it.

"Lily's my ex," he said, completely calm. "But it's over now, and we're good friends."

I couldn't believe him. His ex? Oh, he was in for it now.

"James, I am not your ex girlfriend," I raged.

"Sure, babe," he said.

"Count to ten," Sunny whispered in my ear. Screw giving James a chance; I was done with him. I hated him. I smiled at him, and moved closer.

"That's right…I'm not your _ex_ girlfriend. I am your girlfriend." I put my hand on his and smiled at him.

"You are?" He looked at me, confused.

"I am, and I think you better run along." I smiled sweetly into Sierra's eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She gave James a disgusted look got up and walked over to Alex.

"So…we are finally on, Evans?" he said holding my hand.

"In your dreams, Potter," I replied spitefully, and pulled my hand from his clasp.

"And in yours, too, baby," he continued.

"Go to hell," I said. "I'm going for a walk. Anyone want in?" Steph and Rach nodded and we all walked over to the pier. I looked back. James had gone to find Sierra, and Remus was putting ice cream on Sunny's nose as she laughed.

"Is it just me, or are we all completely lonely?" Rach said.

"Well, not completely Rach. You have Sirius," Steph replied.

"That's why he's sucking the face off another girl."

"I'm sorry, hun," I said, giving her a comforting smile. "But hey, at least we are lonely together."

"Oh, come off it, Lily. You're not lonely; you have Jr!" Rach replied.

"Yeah," I said, looking out onto the glistening sea. I snapped out of my state to find Rach and Steph giggling at me. My cheeks flushed, and I joined in. We took seats on the edge of the pier.

A scream issued from behind us. "What the–?" I said, turning around. There stood Sirius Black, wand raised, pointing at a figure that wasn't moving.


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

**Lily's Province Continued**

"Oh my god!" we screamed, running towards Sirius.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? Put it away!" I screamed. Everyone was staring at us. The guy was still frozen. Black just stood there, paralyzed. I snatched the wand out of his hand and wrapped it in my sarong. Seconds later, and there was a flash of light and everyone but us seven, and the strange figure.

"Ministry of Magic, everybody freeze."

We spun around to come face to face with twenty Ministry officials wearing pointy green wizards' hats with 'MO' on them. They had huge scowls on their faces.

"You are all being called in for questioning relating to the act of unnecessary use of Magic in front of hundreds of muggles. Do not move or say anything," one of them said, waving his wand and the next thing I knew, I was standing in the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic in full beach gear. Five officials had followed us into the Atrium and were telling us to walk forward. A giant fountain in the middle was issuing water from it reminding me of where we had been only seconds before. I glanced at Steph to see she had terror in her eyes. Black was looking at the floor, marching silently, and Remus was holding Sunny's hand silently behind me. The officials were leading us to the elevator. The man who was sitting in the desk in front of the elevator asked to see our wands but the official shot him a glance and he shut up immediately. They piled us into an elevator that had owls swarming above our heads. The officials shot something above all of our heads like a shield. I looked at Rach confused. She shrugged.

"Going up," a cool male voice said out of nowhere. I looked up to see the owls still fluttering around our heads with notes in there beaks. Something very disgusting looking fell from above me and stopped on the invisible shield. Now I knew what it was there for: to stop owl crap falling on our heads. But it was too late for the elevator floor; it was covered in owl crap. Good time to wear flip flops, huh?

"Level One: Department of Misuse of Magical Objects including, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts and Misuse of Magic in front of Magic," the male voice said.

"That's us," the official that was behind me said as he pushed me in the back out of the door. I slid on a piece of owl crap, crashing into James, falling onto of him. He landed flat on his face with me on top.

"Just can't keep on me, can you, Evans?" he said, only loud enough for me to hear. The officials picked both of us up, and I shot a dirty look at James, and he just smirked at me. He made me so mad. We walked down a tiny little hall with sun streaming through a single window. We passed door after door, official after official wearing the pointing green hats with 'MO' on them.

"Remus?" an official with a blue hat saying 'Head Official' asked, stopping all of us in our tracks.

"Dad!" he replied.

"Remus, son, what are you doing here?" He looked an awful lot like Remus, actually identical. Well, his father had a less wolf-like appearance than Remus right now, but that was to be expected; it was near full moon. His father hugged his son and took the official that was leading us aside for a second. It didn't look good; Remus' father's face went from confused, to shocked, then right back to confused again. We all just stood in silence. Remus had his head in his hands. Remus' father cleared his throat, making us all pay attention to him. "In here, kids." We walked into a tiny little room with four seats in it. We all piled in. Remus told Sunny to take a seat and the rest of the girls followed suite. Remus' father waved his wand to make six comfortable seats appear. James, Remus, and his father all took seats but Sirius just stood, arms folded, staring at the ceiling. Two officials took seats while the other three left us alone. One of them stood up and started pacing. I took Sunshine's free hand (the other one was occupied by Remus) and she was shaking. She wasn't one to get in trouble.

"Okay, kids, explain this to me: what the hell happened?" Remus' father asked. We all sat in silence. He cleared his throat. I looked around. Everyone looked blank, except Sirius, who was still staring at the ceiling.

"Um," I looked around; still no help. "Mr. Lupin, I don't know what happened. I was just sitting there – well no _we_ were – and we heard a scream and then we ran and Sirius, well Sirius…" James flashed me a glance. "He was with another girl."

"You're Miss Evans, I assume?" he asked me. He smiled at me warmly, and I nodded. "And, I know you three. Miss. Silverlight, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black."

"Nice to see you again, sir," Sunshine said. She wanted to make a good impression on everyone, especially her boyfriend's father.

"You too, Miss Silverlight. So what happened from your point of view?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Well…Remus and I were sitting, eating out ice cream, and then…like Lily, we heard a scream, and we turned around."

"And what did you see?" he asked. Sunny looked around for help. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. In comes a girl with chocolate brown hair that was down and straight. She was wearing a skirt with sandals and a tee shirt that had ducks on it. Her bright brown eyes gleamed when she saw us.

"Natalie!" all the girls screeched, including me.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" she asked, giving us hugs in return. "Oh, sorry, Mr. Lupin. I'm here to get that 'Day in the Life Of' story for my mom," she finished leaving Mr. Lupin looking puzzled. "For my mom, the editor of the Ministry of Magic Weekly Magazine? You said you would do a 'Day in the Life Of' piece for her."

"Oh! Yes, Natalie Murphy, right?" he asked, and she nodded. "You're friends with my son and his friends?" She nodded again. "Maybe you shouldn't be reporting today then."

"No, Dad, we want Natalie here," Remus said.

"Okay, let's get back to it. Natalie, there is a chair over there. And please, no names mentioned."

"Of course, thanks," she said, sitting down on a seat and taking out a notebook and pen.

"So, who can actually tell me what happened?" he asked. We all looked at Sirius.

"Mr. Black?" He turned to look at Sirius. Sirius just shook his head. "Kids, can you go outside for a second? All except you, Mr. Black. Kids, don't go anywhere just stand outside. You two..." he said, pointing to the officials still in the room. "Look after them." We all piled out, including Natalie.

"What's going on, guys?" she asked. I filled her in on the few details we knew of. Sunny was still shaking and Remus was holding her. James was off talking to Steph, and Rach was biting her nails, no doubt worried about Sirius. Natalie and I sat down to talk. Natalie was helping her mom as a summer job; she got to do the thing she loved – writing – and got paid for it.

Five minutes later, Mr. Lupin came out and signaled for the officials to go back in. A minute later, an owl came fluttering out of the door. By that time, we were all sitting together, wondering what was going on inside the room.

"What happened, James?" I finally asked after minutes of silence.

"I don't know…I was making out with Sierra and the scream and yeah," he replied. I rolled my eyes; that's James for you – always making out

"Well, maybe if you hadn't been making out you would have seen what happened!" I raged. I had taken about as much as I could from James. I just wanted to shout at him and let it all out.

"Well, how was I supposed to know Sirius was going to perform magic? I'm not a mind reader, Lily," he snapped back.

Woooh James never snaps at me! He's never mean to me! Never! Maybe he had broke? Maybe he didn't love me anymore? Who was I kidding? I didn't care. "I've noticed; you would have left me alone years ago."

"Guys," Remus interrupted.

"Well, fine, Lily. I get the picture. I've done everything I can for you, but it's still not enough. Maybe I should just give up," he said, jumping up suddenly, overcome with hatred for me.

"James," Remus continued in a warming voice.

"Well maybe you should! Actually, you know what? I wish you would!" I yelled, jumping up, too, and storming off.

"Guys! Sirius is in there and we don't know why and all you can do is fight?" Rachel asked us.

"Sorry, I know, Rach…you really care about Sirius, don't you?" I asked, taking my seat again, still scowling.

"I'm going for a walk," James said, and walked off.

"James, mate, we have to stay here," Remus replied.

"Yeah, I do," Rach continued. Remus got up and went after James, leaving us girls alone.

"Oh, guys, look what they got us into!" I said. "Look what Sirius did."

"Hey, it's not Sirius' fault. You don't even know what happened," Rach replied.

"It's Black we are talking about. We all know what happened," I snapped back. I was in a bad mood and seeing as James wasn't there to take it out on, I was turning on Rach.

"Lily, you never give him a chance. He's not–"

"Guys!" Sunny yelled. James and Remus returned just in time and Mr. Lupin opened the door and called Remus and James in. Now it was two people biting their nails: Rachel and Sunshine.

Minute after minute went by, and now Rachel and Sunshine were down to their last nail to chew. Raised voices issued from inside and all four of us jumped to our feet and pressed our ears to the door. Seconds later, an electric current ran through me. I was thrown off my feet, leaving me face down on the floor. Three thuds from beside me told me Natalie, Sunny, and Rach were laying beside me.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed, getting up and rubbing my nose. "They're smart." I went over to the door and touched the handle. A current ran through my arm, but I pulled away before it got any further. "Wow, something serious must have happened," I said.

"Get away from the door!" a man's voice said from behind me. I jumped back from the door, even though I didn't get a shock, and landed on Rachel, who was getting up from the floor rubbing her head. "Sorry," I mumbled. I looked at the man who had spoken. He had short gray hair, which wasn't covered by hat, and square glasses that covered his harsh black eyes. Five others were behind him and they all walked up to the door and as if there was no electric force running through it. One of them opened the door and walked through. All I could see was Remus, who had his head in his hands, and Sirius, who was still in the position before we left him, staring at the ceiling with his arms crossed.

I started to get worried; after all, I guess they weren't all that bad. Well, I really felt it for Remus; he was feeling tired and weak anyway, and this was just going to make it worse. And it was his dad who was questioning him. Oh god! My parents! What were they going to say when they found out I was in trouble with the Ministry? How could Black do this to us? I voiced my question but Rach shot me the dirtiest look – she was really obsessive.

"Look, Rach. Black did something really bad. How can you just stand up for him now?" I asked her.

"Lils," Natalie said in a worried tone, putting her hand on my arm. I turned my focus on her. She was staring towards to door. Mr. Lupin stood there. "Ladies, could you come in? Natalie, I would prefer you came in as a friend, not as a reporter." Natalie nodded and followed us inside. Remus looked up at Sunny and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but failed. Sirius had his arms crossed and was staring at Rach. She smiled at him and he moved him head, indicating he got the message. James was sitting in the corner of the room looking at me. Was I supposed to smile at him? I twitched my mouth and couldn't help but smile at him. He looked really upset. They all did.

"Magic was performed around hundreds of muggles. Magic of which you don't need to know," he said as Rach opened her mouth to ask. She closed it quickly. "The fifteen officials that did not come with you stayed behind and erased the last few minutes of each and everyone's memory. It was a long and tedious job. I expect you all to know the seriousness of what you did, even if you didn't do it. I'm letting most of you off with a warning, and your parents wont need to be informed. Now, you girls may go home. Natalie, would you like to come back another day and report? Today wasn't my usual day."

"Yes, sir," Natalie said.

"What do you mean by 'you girls?'" I asked. "What about the boys?"

"Well, Sirius will need to stay behind, and so will James. As for you, Remus, you can stay or go, your choice."

"I'll stay," he said.

"No, Remus. We will be fine go; with the girls, look after them," James replied.

"Please, Remus." It was Sunny who pleaded this time.

"Okay," Remus said, going over to his dad and giving him a hug. "I'll see you at Christmas. I'm going to stay at Sunny's for the rest of the summer. Okay?"

"Yes, son. Have fun at Hogwarts, and good luck with your N.E.W.T.S. I'll look after these boys. Now, bye girls. Nice meeting you all." We all nodded at him and Remus, Sunny, and Natalie all turned to leave. Rach wasn't leaving Sirius here, and I wasn't leaving her alone.

"Why can't Sirius leave?" she asked.

"Miss, please," Mr. Lupin said, "I can't tell you that."

"What about James?" I asked. Hold on…was I asking about James? Woooh, I mean it's not like cared…I just wanted to know what was going on. Right?

"James is a witness. We need him."

"A witness to what?" I continued.

"Miss Evans, please. I can't tell you that."

"Yes, you can. Please, Mr. Lupin. I'm James' girlfriend. I'm worried about him, please." Girlfriend? What was I saying? It just came pouring out.

"I still can't."

"Please, we're in love," I pleaded. I glanced at James out of the corner of my eye. He had a shocked look on his face. Oh, god, what a stupid head. Couldn't he act? He was going to give us away.

"I guess. James was a witness to a piece of magic that was never meant to be used. It's not illegal, but it is very dangerous. Sirius may have killed someone."

"What?" I shouted.

"No!" Rachel yelled.

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" Sirius shouted.

"You really must leave. Do not tell anyone of this," Mr. Lupin said.

I stared at Sirius. I couldn't believe this. Sirius killed someone? No way, he was a huge prank master and troublemaker, but he wasn't a killer!

"Lily, stop looking at me like that," Sirius snapped at me. "With that disgusted look on your face."

"Girls, please, you really have to leave."

"But what's going to happen to them?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know," he said, and he gestured to the door.

I took one last look at Sirius and James. What had they gotten themselves into?

**Rachel's Province**

We walked through the Ministry of Magic, not talking to each other. I was deep in thought and assumed the other five were, too. How could such a perfect day go so horribly wrong? I walked with my head down, watching my feet take small steps. People kept giving us looks, and I assumed it was because we were in a bathing suit and flip-flops. We all agreed to Apparate back to the beach so we could get our stuff. We Apparated into some bathroom stalls in a café, made sure the coast was clear, and left.

The beach looked like it had before we left: people swimming and laughing like we had been. It had only been a few hours since we here before, looking forward to a fun day. It had turned out to be one of the worst. Even though I pretended I hated Sirius for the "other girl" incident, I didn't, not one bit. What was I supposed to do when the boy I loved was in deep trouble for possibly killing someone? No one wrote books on how to deal with it. But even Sirius wasn't that stupid to intentionally kill someone without a good reason. Was he?

We all found our stuff and walked to the car. None of us said more than two words to each other. I think we were all in shock, shock of what Black had done. I think we all knew he was going to get himself in trouble one day but none of us thought he would go that far.

"Should we go back to your's?" Remus asked Sunny.

"Yeah, then they will know where to find us if they need us," Sunny replied. Not even using word, 'Ministry,' we all new who she was talking about. The two boys were stuck in my thoughts. We needed to help them, but there wasn't anything we could do.

"Maybe Jr will be there," Lily wondered aloud, and we found the car and started piling in. I opened my mouth to ask how she could be so selfish but nothing came out. It was like I had forgotten how to talk.

The car journey back seemed hours longer then it did on the way there. We all tried to make conversation but never succeeded. Spirits were low, very low. We needed something to make us smile again, and I had the perfect plan.

**Sunshine's province** When we finally got home, the sun was setting and we all traipsed back into the house, tired and weary. Lily, Stephanie, Remus and I all disappeared up the stairs to our bedrooms. I took a shower, changed my clothes, and fell down on my bed, exhausted.

"Hey, sweetie," Remus said, coming in and sinking beside me.

"Long day, huh?" I said as a greeting.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem real…you know, I never imagined Sirius to go that far."

"No. I don't think any of us did," I replied.

"Guys?" a voice shouted from downstairs. "Guys? Can you come here please?"

I glanced at Remus and we walked down the stairs to find Rachel standing with a towel draped over her arm in a butler-like way. She pointed her other arm to the lounge where ice cream tubs stood on the coffee table with bowls around them. Skittles, Maltesers, and Starburst packets were scattered around them. Pop cans also made the table look like a depressed person's paradise. Remus and I took our seats on the couch, and Steph and Lily joined us.

"Pop, sweets, ice cream – whatever you need. Movie-wise, we need don't need anymore excitement!" She popped in a movie.

Three movies, five full stomachs, and a whole lot of rubbish later, we all were ready to hit the sheets. We all wearily moved towards the stairs when my brother entered the house.

"Lily!" he said, smiling and kissing her on the cheek. I nudged Remus and we continued up the stairs, Rachel followed, getting the idea, but Steph just stood there. Rachel went back and pushed her up the stairs receiving a crazy look from Steph.

As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about what Lily and Jr were doing. It wasn't until three hours later that I heard footsteps up the stairs, a goodbye, and sounds I wish hadn't heard.

"Guys, keep your voice down! Sunny might wake up." Sunlight streamed through my open window.

"We wouldn't want that, now, would we?" I stated, opening my eyes and pulling my self up in bed.

"Told you she would wake up," Steph said.

"Happy birthday, Sunny Hunny!" Rachel said, giving me a hug.

"Aw, I thought you guys had forgotten," I replied.

"No way! Happy seventeenth," Remus continued, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Sunny," Steph and Lily said, also giving me hugs.

"Come on, get up! We're going out," Rachel said.

"Where?" I replied.

"You'll see." She continued leaving the room, and everyone else but Remus followed.

**  
Rachel's Province** We had all set up a big breakfast for Sunny which was almost gone when an owl flew through the open window.

"I'll get it," Lily said, getting up and taking the letter clasped to the owls leg. "It's James." Her face went from confusion to shock to relief and then back to shock and she read the letter.

We had all been sitting on nails, not daring to move once we heard it was James.

"Ministry hearing next Thursday, they pushed it forward seeing as it's back to Hogwarts in nine days. They're allowed out and should be here soon."

The news hit hard. Only one thing ran through my mind. "Does that mean he killed the person?"

"I don't know. James didn't mention it. Which makes me think 'yeah.'"

"Oh, Lily, how could such a great week go so horribly wrong?"

"I don't know, Rachel. I really don't. Anyway, we better make them breakfast. They must be starving – staying there all night."

We started buttering toast and making eggs. A loud _pop!_ issued through the kitchen. We all turned to find James. His hair was flat. His eyes had no sparkle. No smirk danced across his face.

"James!" we all shrieked.

"Where is Sirius?" I asked. James looked at me and gulped. He whispered something that looked like, 'he's banned.'

"Banned? Banned from what?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Az–Azka…" se started, "Azkaban."

"WHAT?" we all yelled.

"What's Azkaban?" Jr said, confused.

"The wizard prison," Lily said to him.

"Well, that's alright. Then he will get out soon enough."

"No, you don't understand. Even five minutes in Azkaban can turn someone from an optimist to a pessimist. It's the Dementors," Lily continued.

"Dementors?"

"Not now, Rubedo!" Sunshine yelled.

"No way! No, you must be kidding!" I said.

"I'm not, Rach, sorry."

"When does he get out?" Steph asked.

"If all goes well, right after the hearing," he said, taking a seat.

"And…?" I asked. "If not…?" He shrugged. "Oh My God," I shrieked. No one else said anything.

"My parents were told I have to go home. Sorry guys, Diagon Alley soon?"

I nodded.

"Bye, Remus, look after these ladies. Bye guys." He turned to Lily. "I'll see you, Lily."

"Bye, James," she replied, and with that he was gone.

**  
Rachel's Province continued**I pulled the covers up to my chin. It was the only source of comfort, security. Sirius was gone and maybe for good, the man I loved in Azkaban. I rolled over in the spare bed which Steph and I shared. Steph had already gotten up, leaving my silent tears to flow non-stop. There was a knock on the door and I hurriedly wiped the tears that were soaking the pillow and pretend to sleep.

"Rachel?" It was Lily. "Rachel I know your awake. Okay, fine, but you know your going to have to come out sometime. Lunch is downstairs, if your interested."

I wasn't. Sirius had taken my appetite with him to Azkaban.

"Your favorite! Oh please, Rachel, this is hard on all of us." I rolled over, giving her the hint to get lost. "Alright, well, we are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow. You're going to have to get up sometime," she finished, leaving the room. Don't get me wrong, Lily is my best friend, but right now, the only person I'm going to talk to is Sirius.

Throughout the day, people would keep dropping in. I would ignore them and pretend to sleep. Suddenly, the front door slam shut. I lay there until I heard the sound of tires of gravel. I got up and went over to the window. Sure enough, Sunny's car had left, and I quietly moved my way over to the door and peered around, making sure the hall was empty. It was. I moved towards the bathroom: I needed to pee badly. I still tiptoed quietly just in case someone was still home. After I relieved myself, I crept downstairs. Sirius had taken my hunger with him, but my thirst was still there. I heard sounds from the kitchen. It was Jr, and he was talking. What was he saying? I crept closer and peered around the door. There Jr was, talking on the phone.

"Yeah, okay, so next Saturday? Sounds great, see you then!"

One thing sprang to mind: another girl. Ugh ,boys. , he was coming towards me. I crept back, but too late.

"Busted," Rubedo said to me. "I thought you were the grieving girlfriend."

"I thought you weren't the cheating type," I retaliated.

"What?" he looked genuinely surprised. Faker.

"Yeah, that's right. I heard you on the phone making a date for next Saturday."

He laughed. "No, I wasn't making a date. I was planning a surprise."

"Sure you were." I looked at him suspiciously.

"Promise! It's a surprise for Lily…just wait you'll see, but you can't tell."

"Okay, deal. But one thing, I'll keep your secret if you don't tell anyone about me getting up."

"Deal." Jr laughed. "But one thing: which necklace should I give her?" He pulled out two necklaces. Both had crystals that were shining in the sunlight. "I have a return policy on both of them."

"They are gorgeous, both of them." I smiled. They truly were amazing.

"I was thinking of going with the one with three pink diamonds. What do you think?"

"Yeah, she will love it." I couldn't take my eyes off of them. They looked extremely expensive. "You really like her, huh?" I asked, taking a cup and pouring out some orange juice.

"Yeah, I really do." There was silence then once again the sound of tires on gravel. "Quick! They're home!"

I ran up the stairs and leapt into my bed just as the front door opened and sounds issued up the stairs.

**  
Sirius' Province** I looked around, and all I saw were old, weary, slightly insane looking people as the two Dementors lead me to god knows where. Flashbacks of my parents, Rachel breaking up with me, being kicked out of my house, James and I fighting, family deaths, and my brothers picking on me circled around my mind. I shook my head, trying to get rid of them. I tried to think of something happy, but what was happy about being taken to Azkaban? Getting out? Well, if I ever was. Think, Sirius. Think. Ah, Rachel. I concentrated my thoughts on the beautiful girl who would be missing me right now. I tried and tried, but the image of Rachel grew weaker and weaker. Eventually, she was gone and all that was left was fear. Fear of being here, fear of never getting out, fear of my friends forgetting me. I stumbled and fell. I was getting weaker by the second: my legs couldn't carry me, no helping hand came. Only strong 'hands' came down, grabbed me, and threw me up. Oh, Sirius, what did you do? If only I hadn't, if only I had kept my temper, if only he didn't show up that day–

WHAM.

I was thrown to the ground; it was cold and hard. It was dark even though it was early morning. I looked around. There were no walls, only the cold, dark concrete on which we sat on. I had once heard James' parents say they don't need walls to keep the prisoners in. Now I understood why. The girl next to me had cold, dark, black eyes, a sunken face, and she cowering, looking around scared. Was I going to look like that once I got out of this place? My parents' faces circled around my thoughts. I tried to distract myself; I messed up my hair, played with my clothes, anything I could do to get the bad images from my mind. I put my hands in my pockets and found a picture. It was Rachel and I on the last day of our sixth year; James was in the picture with his current girlfriend of the time – Emilie. I smiled. **Peter's Province**  
"My Lord, I cannot do ask you ask," I said.

"What do you mean, 'you cannot?' You will," he answered. We were in a tiny cottage house. The occupants were on holiday, so the Dark Lord had taken it over for a while. It was dark and gloomy because we couldn't attract attention. The Dark Lord brought a presence to the room, a presence of importance, one you had to respect, and by 'had to' I _mean_ 'had to.' "But–" "–No buts, now go." He held out a long spindly finger. I left, bowing my head like a dog did when being told off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

**Lily's Province**

"I'm not going to wait for you," I said, picking up my books and stuffing them in my worn out backpack, which was almost splitting at the seams from all the books I thrust in there daily.

"Please, Lily," he pleaded. We were in the Gryffindor common room and I had been given the duty of making sure everyone was out of the common room and in the Halloween feast. The last straggler was James, who had actually changed a little bit since summer. I think the whole 'Sirius Fiasco' kind of knocked some sense into him. Oh, yeah, the Sirius Fiasco. Well, James and Remus went to the trial while the girls stayed home with Rubedo. Luckily, they let him off saying it was defense. Defense against what, we have no idea. The guys wouldn't tell us. Rachel didn't get out of bed until the day of the Ministry hearing. We had been placing food and water on her bed each day for her, but she never spoke a word until the hearing day, when she kicked up a huge fuss about not being able to go and then went straight back to her bed. We all wondered how she managed to look so good without showering for days, and how she didn't need to pee. But anyway, Rachel did eventually get out of bed when Sirius returned to the house (after being kicked out of his parents') to rescue her.

"Why should I?" I asked.

"Because you love me." James smirked slowly picking up his books and placing them slowly into his backpack. I smiled sarcastically and turned on my heel. "…and you have to, if you want to keep that shiny badge on your robes." I stopped dead in my tracks. He laughed.

"You know what?" I asked.

"What?" he said, doing up his bag and throwing it in a corner so he didn't have to take it to the feast.

"You're really cocky," I said, stating the obvious.

"I've been told," he said, like he didn't care, and walked over to the portrait hole. I swung my bag into a corner, too, and turned to face James, but he wasn't there. Suddenly a head popped through the portrait hole. "I'm not waiting for you." I laughed, cocky and annoying, but yet fun and hilarious. "Aw, a smile for me?" He gasped. "Lily Evan's can't be falling for the cocky arrogant boy, could she?" I rolled my eyes. "You have to spoil everything, don't you, Potter?"

**  
Rachel's Province**   
"Pass the sausages, please," Sirius said from beside me to Remus, who was on the other side of me, with Sunny opposite him. I looked at his plate, which was already stacked full with mashed potatoes, yorkshire puddings, and gravy. That's Sirius for you. The plates of carrots and other various vegetables lay untouched by us.

"Hey, guys," Lily said walking over to us, James hot on her heels. They slipped into the seats opposite us. I saw Sirius wink at James out of the corner of his eye and Lily throwing him a disgusted look. Lily turned to Steph, who was beside her, and started talking. Peter, who had finally showed up to Hogwarts (days late), sat beside James. The only thing I hated more than James was how Wormtail worshipped him and Sirius. I looked up to find hundreds of bats flying above us or hanging from floating candles. Huge pumpkins sat in the corners of the Great Hall with faces carved into them. Expectedly, there were ten times more jugs of pumpkin juice sitting on the different house tables.

"Mind if I cut in?" someone screeched from behind me. I turned to find a pretty sixth year girl standing behind me.

"Leila!" I smiled, motioning for Sirius to budge over so Leila could sit beside me. He reluctantly obeyed. "What's up?"

"Well, Kimmie heard from Bella, who apparently heard from some girl in Slytherin, who heard from… well, you get the point. Anyway, Kimmie said that it is rumored there is something going on with Lily and James."

"WHAT?" Lily screeched spraying pumpkin juice all over Leila and I. James smirked, and she shot him a filthy look. "No way in hell."

"Oh." Leila said. "Sorry, its just people have been talking about you two hooking up in the summer." Lily's face suddenly fell. I glanced at Leila who looked confused.

"Don't mention the word 'summer' in front of Lily," I whispered.

"Why?" she whispered back.

"I'll tell you later," I answered. The truth was it had taken three hours, a packet of chocolate, every single one of us of us on our knees pleading, and Jr talking to her for fifteen minutes to get Lily to come out of the bathroom. She had locked herself in and refused to leave for Hogwarts, not wanting to leave Jr. She had been in tears when we left Platform 9 ¾, and wouldn't talk to anyone the whole journey. Well, our journey had seriously sucked. Rubedo, being the sweet guy that he was, had given Lily the necklace he had asked me about just before we left for Hogwarts, and all through the journey she kept sitting there and playing with it. Now every time someone said something about his or her summer, or how pretty her necklace was, she would get all quiet and her eyes would fill up with tears.

"Well, I think I have done enough damage for today. Bye, guys," Leila said, smiling nervously. "I'll see you guys around."

"Bye, Leila," everyone said, including Lily, which I was surprised about.

"Well, I'm seeing him soon, anyway! Christmas remember?" I scoffed down the rest of my dinner, grabbed Sirius (who tried to protest, but could only grunt, seeing as his mouth was full), and marched him over to one of the pumpkins.

"Sirius, I'm worried about Lily. Jr is basically determining her happiness, and that can't happen. She's only happy when she is reading a letter from Jr, or thinking about when she is going to talk to him or see him. It's actually kind of pathetic. And her academics are falling. I can't stand this any longer. I need your help."

"Rachel, maybe it's best for her to go through a grieving stage."

"Well, it's been a long grieving period, and it's not healthy."

"Rachel, can you just trust me on this one?" he said, touching my chin to signal to look at him. He stared into my eyes. I couldn't help but trust him. He was so irresistible…he was a drug.

And I was addicted.

**Lily's Province**

Rubedo was everything I thought about. I knew my friends thought I was crazy and probably overdoing it…but, hey, what do they know?

Before my own very eyes I become secluded, deeper, and even darker, I think you could say. My friends didn't seem to understand me anymore. I honestly didn't know what was happening to me. It's like I was getting deeper into, I guess you could say, depression, but I couldn't stop myself.

**  
James's Province **

Before my very own eyes, the love of my life was fading. Her usual happy, bubbly, cheery self was gone. I had to do something. Anything, she was taking the Rubedo thing too far, way too far.

I was worried, for Lily, yes. But, her loving Jr meant she couldn't love me. Wow, was I really this selfish? Yes. I really was. But, I mean, when you want something enough, you fight for it, don't you? My conscience was telling me otherwise, but my head was telling me to go with my plan. I had to break them up. I just had to. I headed back to the common room after the feast. Sirius and I were throwing a Halloween party that night, and I couldn't find Sirius in the Great Hall. I walked up to our dormitory, hoping he was there. And he was, just not alone. Rachel and Sirius were making out on my bed.

"OI!" I shouted. "Use your own bed!"

**Sirius **

I scowled at James as Rach and I broke apart. Doesn't that boy have any timing? Rachel turned a shade of pink and I glared at James.

"Party, remember?" he stated, smirking.

I gave Rachel a quick kiss and walked over to James. "What did you do that for?"

"Well you were on my bed," he said simply, like he didn't do anything wrong. "Looks like things are going good."

"Yes, they are. What about you – any potential dates yet?" I replied as we made our way back down to the common room.

"Nope, this year it's Lily, and Lily only. I'm going to get her, Sirius. I promise you."

I laughed, but quickly stifled it. It wasn't the time to be crushing his fantasies. "If you're so sure, why don't we place a bet on it?" I was a jerk. A big jerk. I knew what I had done as soon as the words had come out. But they came, and I couldn't stop them.

"Fine, a month's supply of Bertie Botts?" he asked.

"Deal," I replied.

Now I understood why so many girls disliked me after I had dated them. I was a jerk. But a handsome jerk.

**Rachel's Province **

Sirius had left me. I was alone in they boys' dormitory. Not just any boys' dormitory, my boyfriend's dormitory. Sirius' bedside table had one drawer which was conveniently open. I wasn't much of a snooper, but come on…you would've done the same, wouldn't you?

I sat still. I couldn't hear any noise from outside the door, but I still proceeded with caution. I walked over to the bedside table and put my hand in, but sharply took it out. Unlike you're thinking, I do have a conscience, and it just had to rear its ugly head right then. I shook my head, hoping to knock the voice out of my head. I saw a notebook, a black notebook. I took a breath and grabbed it. I hesitated opening it. "Stop being such a baby, Rachel," I told myself, and opened it. I saw girls' names, and underneath there numbers and words. I read a few. 'Chrys, 576 595 4733, all the way.' 'Jennifer, 748 322 1092, make-out.' It dawned on me those words stood for how far he had gone with them. Ew. I scanned the not-so-surprisingly long book for my name.

'Rachel, 344 221 2334.'

That's all it said. No 'make-out' or 'all the way,' not like I had gone that far with him anyway, but that only meant one thing. He was working on me, I was just another soon to be 'all the way' in his 'not so little' black book. And I didn't want to be that. Not one bit. Disgusted, mad, and slightly disturbed, I threw the book back into the drawer and stormed out of the room and down into the common room. Fuming, I slumped into a couch next to Steph, who was reading her potions text book. She didn't turn to me, or even acknowledge my presence. I made angry noises in the back of my throat, hoping she would get the picture.

"Okay, spill," she said, slamming the book shut. I told her everything, and she was just as disgusted as I was.

For the rest of the night, I tried to avoid Sirius, which wasn't really possible, seeing as he was hosting the Halloween party down in the common room. He kept looking at me and I gave him a forced grin. He was too busy entertaining the rest of the Gryffindors. I was talking with Renny, Natalie, Megz, Lily, Steph, Sunny and Emily. We basically made up the seventh year Gryffindor girls, and we were all very close. We were talking about the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Loonitac, and as you can imagine her nickname was: Professor Lunatic. It was when we were laughing about her recent catastrophe (turning James' eyebrows into caterpillars), when out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sirius making his way over to us. I quickly excused myself and exited the common room, via the portrait hole; I wasn't up for a confrontation. I wasn't too sure if I was allowed to be in the halls, so I made my way quickly down to the entrance hall and out into the grounds.

The fresh air greeted me peacefully, cooling my flushed face. It whipped through my hair, sending it flying into my face. I pushed it back and walked over to the black lake. It was so peaceful; no ripples even though the high winds. The moon was shining bright; full moon had come once more. I took off my shoes and cooled my feet in the water. It was soothing. Sirius was erased from my mind as I saw two dark figures coming from the front doors, causing a flood of light to issue onto the perfect lawn. I picked up my shoes and ran behind the nearest bush, not wanting to be seen.

I noticed a tall figure and a smaller one. I recognized the tall figure as Madame Swan, but I couldn't make out the smaller one. They passed right by my bush and headed towards the other side of the lake, where the newly planted tree called 'The Whomping Willow' stood.

Curious as I was, I went from bush to bush until they stopped right outside the Whomping Willow. Madame Swan handed the figure, which by now I had realized was Remus, a goblet of – what? I couldn't tell you. He drank it and went – where? Once again, I couldn't tell you. He disappeared. Madame Swan didn't seem affected by it, and walked back to the castle. I stayed behind the bush for a while until I knew the coast was clear, and then made my way out of the bush over to the Whomping Willow. But, unlike Remus and Madame Swan, I couldn't get within ten feet as the tree started lashing out at me. I stepped back, not wanting to be caught by the furious tree.

Wondering where Remus had gone, I walked around the tree, outside of its reaching area, of course, but could find no trace. Just as I got around to where I had started, I noticed more light being cast on the lawn and quickly ran back behind a bush. This time I recognized the figure's immediately: Sirius, James, and Peter. I stayed silent behind the bush, not even daring to breathe. I watched as they walked up to the tree. The tree didn't lash out as it had done to me; it just stood, stock-still. And, like Remus had done, the four of them disappeared into nowhere. Confused and frustrated, I leapt out from behind the bush, determined to get to the bottom of this, when I saw a figure only a few meters away from me. I had been too preoccupied to even notice another party joining me.

"Devon? Devon, is that you?" I asked. I recognized that handsome face and the tall, muscular figure.

"Rachel?" he asked in his buttery voice. Devon was a seventh year Hufflepuff, and was very popular. We were very good friends, and had dated for a while two years back.

"What are you doing out here so late?" I asked him, going up to him and giving him a hug.

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied.

"Well, I was frustrated. I needed a walk to clear my head. Your turn."

"I saw you from the window." He laughed, which made me blush. Thank god it was dark.

"Want to walk with me?" I asked him. We were so at ease together, and before I knew it, he knew all Sirius' book and Lily's grieving period. We had taken seats by the lake, and I had resumed cooling my feet in the water. The Marauders and their disappearing act were erased from my mind as Devon talked to me.

"Thanks, Devon. It really means a lot, you listening."

"No problem, Rach. It's like how it was when we were dating," he replied. I didn't know what to say. After minutes of silence, he finally said, "I miss that."

"Yeah, me too." In all honesty, I did miss it. I turned to him, we locked eyes, and he took my hand. I blushed once again. He lent in, I met him half way. Our lips touched.

"HEY!" an angry voice said from behind me. Oh, crap. I had forgotten we weren't out of view. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" We turned, and to just my luck, only one person could have been standing there.

I had cheated on the famous Sirius Black.

**Sirius's Province**

She cheated on me.

She cheated on me.

She effing cheated on me.

I, the famous Sirius Black, had been cheated on.

Fury ran through every vein in my body, cursed through me from head to toe, and pushed every rational thought out of my mind. I walked straight up to Devon, ignoring Remus' and James' words, and–

WHAM! I smacked him right in the nose, hard.

WHAM!

He hit me right back. I raised my fist, but someone had gotten a hold on me from behind. Rachel was shouting something I couldn't make out, and Devon was being restrained by Moony, which meant James was holding, because Wormtail isn't that strong.

I glared at Devon, and he glared right back. I changed my focus to Rachel. A single tear was rolling down her cheek. I had a sudden urge to comfort her, but the vision of her kissing Devon sprang back into my mind.

"Sh!t!" James said from behind me. I spun to find Professor Malkine walking over to us. James' grip loosened.

"What are you six doing out here so late at night?" she asked, stopping in front of me and looking at me.

"Uh…"

"My office," she said, very sternly. We all glanced at each other and walked back into the castle.

"My Remus, you may go back to your common room," she said as we arrived outside of her office. She pointed inside.

Her office was a small, dark room. It had yellow curtains and a dark wood desk. She conjured up enough chairs for the five of us and lit the fire with a flick of her wand. She walked over to her owl and wrote two notes. She tied it to her owl, which was sitting on a perch next to her desk, told it to take one to Professor Dumbledore, the head of our house.

"Your Head of House will take care of your punishment," she said to the four of us. She then turned to Devon. "And seeing as I'm Head of your house, I will take care of yours."

"Now, while we wait for Professor Dumbledore, would anyone care to explain what happened?"

**Rachel's Province continued**

I made my way out of the Headmasters' office which Devon and I had been sent to. For some reason, the Marauders got let off. How unfair! Dumbledore said something about helping Remus? Well, whatever. They got let off, and Devon and I got thirty points house points taken off and a detention each. We walked in silence until we came to a break in the path were I would go right to my common room and left to his. I turned to say goodbye, but no words came out of my mouth.

"Rachel, I'm sorry, I should never have kissed you," said Devon as he looked into my eyes.

"No, I kissed you," I replied. Suddenly as if I had been living in the dark, I just realized what I had said. And done. Up until now, I didn't realize the full intensity of what I had done, but now it hit me full on. I had cheated. Cheated! And not with anyone, with Sirius Black. Oh God. I looked back to Devon he gave me a parting smile and turned down the torch-lit corridor. I did the same, except down the one to my own common room.

Once I had reached the portrait hole the stupid, yes stupid, Fat Lady was sleeping.

"OI!" I yelled. Right now, I didn't care how many people got mad at me. I was mad at myself, mad at Sirius, mad at the world. She woke up, gave me the evilest of looks, and swung open.

The Gryffindor common room was dark; the fire was still going, which was surprising, seeing as it was one o'clock in the morning. I went over to the couch and sank low into it. I wasn't ready to go to my dorm; I didn't want a confrontation from Lily, Steph, or Sunny. The common room was a mess from the party, including stuck to the ceiling, which I presumed was one of James' tricks. I stared into the dancing flames, hatred rose thick and fast through my body. I started sobbing. I couldn't help it. The tears grew faster and faster, louder and louder, until the portrait hole swung open leaving me silent.

"Hello?" I said as a figure stepped inside the common room. Only one person could have stepped through the portrait hole that could make my night worse than it already was and they did.

"Oh, it's you," Sirius Black said, walking over to the staircase.

"Sirius I'm sorry. I really am," I said, jumping out from the couch and grabbing his arm.

"No, Rachel. No," he said, giving me an angry and disgusted look, shaking me off. I couldn't say anything, just sob. He didn't comfort me. He just stared at me. "I don't get it, Rachel. One minute we're making out on the bed, and the next you're off snogging the face off of someone else. What happened?"

And that was it. I couldn't hide it any longer. I yelled at him. I yelled about the 'black book,' the 'all the way' I was soon to be. The perfect timing Devon had. How he listened. How he looked at me. I couldn't make out any emotion on Sirius' perfect face. He just stared at me. Stared and stared until I was finally done. My throat hurt, my lungs hurt, my heart hurt. Everything hurt. I looked at him, giving him the cue to talk, and he didn't take it.

"Well…say something!" I yelled.

"What the hell is going on here?" I spun around to find James Potter, sleepy-eyed, staring at us. A few other people had collected behind, including my three best friends.

"You're pathetic, you know that?" I yelled, turning back to Sirius.

"You're a cheater!"

"You're a man wh0re!" I screamed, and I slapped him. I slapped him hard, across his face. My hand stung and my eyes watered.

"Rachel, that's enough," Steph said, firmly coming forward and grabbing my arm. I knew it was over; Sirius just stood there shocked. I let her lead me off up the staircase into our dormitory.

The next day was terrible. I walked into the Great Hall the next morning and it fell silent. Why does gossip travel so fast? Why cant people keep out of other peoples' business?

I walked into my potions class, which I had with Sirius. My usual seat next to him was occupied by a blonde Ravenclaw. I felt like crying, but I kept my head high and ignored it completely.

I passed Devon a few times in the hallways; we didn't talk to each other, just a general nod or smile. I wanted to talk to him so bad, even though talking to him had opened a can of worms I wanted to stay shut. He made me feel so at ease, talking to him made me forget my troubles. Was I supposed to mourn over Sirius? Of course I still loved him. My heart told me to apologize, but my head told me I should be mad about the whole 'black book' thing.

Why is being a teenager so confusing?

**Rubedo's Province** _She turned towards me, the girl with the red hair. Lily Evans was her name. She came closer, closer. So close I could see every tear that clung to her long eyelashes. "Rubedo, I can't," was all that came out of her mouth. "What?" I yelled. My vision of Lily was blurring. "Why?" I yelled at the distant figure. "Come back, Lily, no!" She just shook her head. The scene changed. I was standing outside a washroom. A girls' washroom. Many girls were coming out and giving me looks: some smiling, others were winking. I looked down and saw I was shirtless. A girl came and knocked on the bathroom door even though it was wide open. "Hello?" she called. "Hello?" Once more, her voiced faded. And she was gone._ I woke up in a cold sweat with only one word, one person, one girl with flaming red hair swirling in my head. When would I forget her? When would I move on? **Lily's Province** "They are being a bunch of idiots!" I exclaimed. I turned from the shouting, which was coming from the corner of the common room. It was the third fight this day. When Rachel and Sirius had finally stopped giving the silent treatment, instead of talking like civilized people, they turned to shouting, and for that matter, name calling. 'Slapper' was being tossed around in there somewhere along with other words. Luckily, it was late at night and most people had gone to bed. Only seventh years stayed around, because homework had been piling up in preparation for the N.E.W.T.'s, even though they still were half a year away. Most had retired to their rooms once the match had gotten into full swing but others (the marauders and us girls), had stayed around to make sure things didn't get out of hand, like they had earlier. "You're still going on about that stupid book? You kissed Devon, remember? You're the cheater!" Sirius roared, slamming his fist onto the mantelpiece. "Sirius, please stop, your scaring me!" Rachel screamed back. Tears were streaming down her face. "Rachel, you cheated on me! What do you want me to do? Get over it in a flash?" Sirius shouted back. His face grew redder and redder as the fight went on. It was crazy! All six of us knew they cared deeply for each other, but no one would voice their opinion, not even James, which was surprising. Finally, after more screaming, I couldn't take it. I cracked. "You two are the most selfish, clueless, infuriating people in the world!" I yelled, getting up from my position next to the burning fire. Sirius and Rach both opened their mouth to say something, but I continued. All eyes were on me. "You both love each other and everyone else knows it but you. You're crazy. People would kill for your relationship, and all you can do is fight about the past." "She kissed Devon. It was only two days ago, Lily. Not enough in the past for me." This time, Sirius didn't yell. He didn't scream, nor shout. He said it calmly, quietly – more frightening than when he had yelled. He was like one of your parents, when they guilt you into something. It makes you wish they had shouted. "Grow up. Look around, Sirius," Rachel said, moving towards him as tears fell down her cheeks. "You're the king of this freaking school, what more do you want? You want girls – not long term relationships! I did you a favor." "Rachel, I want you. I don't want anyone else. I would throw that book in the fire if I had you back. I love you."

**Sirius's Province**

Silence ran through the common room as I issued those three words. The three words that, to a girl, mean so much:

I love you.

I stared at Rachel. No emotion showed on her pretty face. She just stood there, staring back at me. Finally she swallowed.

"What?" she said, confused.

"I…I love…I love you," I stammered.

"No. No, Sirius. You don't," she replied. Woah, not the reaction I was looking for. "I fooled myself into think you did before and you didn't. You lied! How do I know your not lying? How am I supposed to believe you?"

I was shocked. She didn't trust me. No words came from my mouth. I just reached into my pocket, took out the black book, ripped it up, and through it into the fire. The fire took it in like it was precious; the flames liked all the past girls I had ever known and their numbers. I had just thrown it away for Rachel, and did she even care? I turned back to find her staring shocked at the burning book.

"You actually did it," she whispered.


End file.
